Aquaculture

The aquaculture industry is rapidly growing with fish produced by aquaculture nearly equalling the amount of capture fish. Aquaculture production has been increasing at an average annual growth rate of 6.1 percent from 36.8 million tonnes in 2002 to 66.6 million tonnes in 2012[1]. It is thought that developing countries will drive major changes and the expansion in fisheries and aquaculture production, its trade and consumption.

The global growth in fish production will be driven by an increase in aquaculture output since the amount of capture fish is generally static. The graph below illustrates the world fisheries and aquaculture production.

(Source: FAOSTAT)

A few countries dominate aquaculture production Worldwide. The table below show the 15 countries that produced 92.7 percent of all farmed food fish in 2012[2].

Fishmeal and fish oil are important ingredients in aquaculture feed. The production of fishmeal, which was about 6 million tonnes in 2012, is expected to reach 7–7.75 million tonnes in 2022 due to the increasing use of fish by-products for fishmeal production[3]. Roughly 35 percent of world fishmeal production was obtained from fish by-products in 2012. The moderate increase in fishmeal production means that aquaculture production will be able to expand because of improved efficiency in the use of fishmeal and its specialised uses.

[2]FAO: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture: Opportunities and challenges. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, 2014

[3] FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular No. 1089, Economic Analysis of Supply and Demand for Food up to 2030 – Special Focus on Fish and Fishery Products. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, 2014

Information on fishmeal and its use in aquaculture can be found in the articles below: